To Live and To Love
by That quirky character
Summary: Fanfiction request for an Avery/Nelson romance. The first time they say "I love you" to each other and when Director Silver finds out about their relationship.


**A/N: This was a request from stubborn-dreamer who wanted a fic about Avery/Nelson romance. It took me awhile to write it so I decided to do two of your prompts. Hope you enjoy!**

Prompt One: The first time they say "I love you" to each other.

Both Nelson and Avery could remember this moment vividly. They could feel the sunlight warming their skin and smell the scent of apples in the air, even months after it happened.

After the stress of their recent case, where a hacker had killed patients in their local hospital, Avery had needed a break. Leaving the rest of the team behind to wrap up the paperwork, they snuck out of CTOC and drove to Avery's apartment. The windows were cracked open slightly, and a fast breeze rustled her blonde hair.

Nelson gave her a wild grin. He loved it when she was like this, unpredictable and uninhibited. It was at times like this that they shared their most intimate moments.

"So," He had said, cranking the window down a little more. "What are we going to do? Just relax? Or something more?"

She giggled, her smile creasing the corners of her mouth. "I had an idea. Of something fun. Maybe a little too cliche."

"What?" Nelson leaned in closer to her.

"I was thinking we could bake apple pie." She glanced at him, the sunlight turning her blue eyes a sea foam green.

"That sounds perfect."

They arrived at her apartment twenty minutes later, having taken a detour to get ingredients from the store.

The kitchen was sparkling, and Nelson wondered briefly if she had planned this. The groceries were plopped down on the counter for a moment, as Avery wrapped her arms around Nelson and pulled him close. He embraced her too, and smiled warmly.

His eyes met hers and they locked for a minute. The words were at the tip of his tongue. How he wanted to let them roll off, just tell her what she meant to him. But something stopped him. He didn't know quite what it was, but all he could do was stare helplessly and lovingly into her eyes.

Avery released him with a laugh and moved over to preheat the oven. His opportunity had passed. There was a mixture of both disappointment and relief. She meant the world to him, why couldn't he just say that? Maybe he was afraid that it would seem too real, and Avery would push him away. At the same time, he knew that she loved him and didn't want to let go. Maybe it was him who was afraid of commitment. But he didn't think that was right either.

He'd tell her soon, he decided. Soon.

They traded off roles for a little bit, one person reading the recipe and another person doing what was needed.

About forty-five minutes later, the pie was finally in the oven.

Avery turned on the faucet to wash her hands, which were covered in sugar and remnants of apple. Nelson could smell the scent of apples wafting through the room as they baked.

He snuck up behind her as she turned off the tap.

Snaking his arms around her waist, he spun her around and kissed her. Their breath mingled, sweet and warm. When they finally broke apart, only due to an undeniable need for air, both were grinning. Something about this moment just felt so perfect, and normal. It crossed Nelson's mind that he wanted to live frozen in time here forever. But then he corrected it. No, he wanted to live with her forever. He wanted a million more moments like this, countless memories and experiences to look back on and be in.

He wanted the lifetime of joy and peace and beauty that came with loving Avery.

At this moment in time, something in him changed. Maybe it was the sweetness of the air, or the heart-fluttering smile of Avery's, but whatever was halting those three words from escaping his throat just melted away.

He stood still, facing her and staring into those beautiful blue eyes, and the sentence just tumbled out freely. It tossed itself like a tumbleweed across the tundra of life, as wild, unpredictable, and vulnerable as love itself.

"I love you."

Her smile grew wider, and she kissed him again. All the doubt and fear inside of him just disappeared. He kissed her back, euphoria rising in him like the tides.

When she drew back, it was only to reply.

"Brody Nelson, I love you too."

Together they walked out onto the balcony, peering up at the endless blue sky with pearly clouds and the shadowy skyscrapers of D.C. For awhile they remained there, the taste of apples in their mouths and the sun in their eyes.

This was only the beginning, and there was so much more to come.

Prompt Two: Director Silver discovers about Avery and Nelson's relationship and has a "talk" with her about it.

They got called to Director Silver's office immediately after finishing taking inventory and scrubbing all the devices Python could've gotten access to. His being in CTOC scared Avery, and she was already frazzled from the aftermath of the case.

She expected to be scolded for being careless and allowing cyber's biggest criminal into the FBI, where he could have done horrific damage and possibly exposed countless top secret files or undercover operations. However, when Nelson was called in she began to get a sinking feeling in her chest.

This only got worse when Director Silver sat them both down and slammed down the Human Resources manual on his desk.

He stood up, towering over them. His hands were on his hips, and he glared disapprovingly at his two employees.

Nelson silently groaned. He hated people who felt it necessary to over-display their power and authority.

"I would like you to explain something to me. The security tapes from last night showed something rather interesting. You two were seen kissing in front of the building after clocking out of work." His tone was gravelly and rough. He still didn't sit down.

Avery turned and shot a look at Nelson. She knew that was a stupid idea!

Nelson glared at the director. "Why were you looking at the tapes anyways?" He questioned, and Avery reached out a hand to stop him.

Nelson bit his lip in an attempt to control his temper.

Director Silver scoffed, seemingly pleased at the outburst. It made it even easier for him justify this conversation. "If you must know, it was just routine monitoring. General safety precautions. We have techs monitoring the entrances and exits every day."

Nelson's blood boiled. Great, now he was making them seem stupid.

"I just want to know several things. One, how on Earth did both of you expect to keep this relationship a secret, and two, why would you even consider maintaining it in regards to how it effects your team, as well as the fact that Brody Nelson is a member of your hacker for hire program."

"Director Silver," Avery said, venom in her tone. "To answer your questions, we did not expect to keep this relationship a secret forever because we didn't think there would be a problem with it. We are two adults in a consensual relationship and we shouldn't have to justify it. Secondly, our romance does not effect the team in any way. We both do our share of the work and I treat everyone equally. As for Nelson being a member in the hacker for hire program, you should know that that does not mean I give him preferential treatment."

"While I am glad to hear that Avery," the director eased himself into his cushioned swivel chair, "I cannot ignore that you may be biased towards him in the future and possibly stretch the rules of his agreement with the FBI."

Rage was building in Nelson's throat, but the looks he was getting from Avery forced him to keep his mouth shut. This was a battle she needed to fight. If he had another outburst, it would just seem like Avery was allowing him to be aggressive and rough, proving that she was giving him biased treatment.

Director Silver continued. "While I do not condone this type of behavior, I must also take into consideration the quality of work you both provide for the FBI. As a result, I am willing to turn a blind eye to your relationship provided that it does not appear in or around the workplace ever again. Additionally, Avery, if I see that it begins to effect your work or the team, I will pull both of you in here for another discussion that will not have as happy an ending as this one. Understood?"

"Absolutely. Thank you very much, Director." Avery stood up and put her jacket on. Nelson nodded.

"Understood," he echoed, and followed Avery out the door.

They stared at each other for a moment in the hallway, and Avery shook her head. "I told you it was a stupid idea to kiss right there, in front of the building!"

"Really? Because I don't remember any objection."

She laughed. "Just be glad Director Silver let us go."

"I am. So do I get to kiss you now?"

"No! Didn't you listen? Not here, but we can go back to my place, if you'd like."

"I'd love that..."


End file.
